Alf Rewin
7 Oct 2019 · Coroner Crispin Butler · Buckinghamshire
The coroner's concerns
1. overdose patient becoming unconscious or cardiac arrest
“The National Ambulance Call Categories prescribed by NHS Pathways to ambulance services, including South Central Ambulance Service, who were the attending service in relation to [the deceased]'s death, indicate that an individual contacting emergency services himself or herself, having taken an overdose may be triaged through the national call handling pathway to a Category 3 Urgent Call. This category currently prescribes a target attendance within 120 minutes.”
Responses
2019-0469-Response-by-NHS-Digital.pdf ↗· NHS Pathways
Stated action
“We have broken down our response to the concerns raised and details of measures in place and actions taken and ongoing in this area as detailed below: A) Triage of symptoms NHS Pathways triages symptoms presenting at the time of the call and directs patients to the most appropriate services based on these symptoms rather than making a diagnosis. NHS Pathways is built on a clinical hierarchy of symptoms, meaning that life-threatening symptoms are prioritised and assessed through our initial set”